Journey Down a Hard Road
by ElegantButler
Summary: After the events in Twenty Minutes Into Terror, the surviving hostages are sent to spend time at a recovery center.
1. Chapter 1

MAX HEADROOM

_Journey Down a Hard Road_

**by Elegant Butler****-Chapter One: A Question in Need of An Answer-**

Bryce Lynch finished the light but healthy breakfast the hospital had provided him. While a nurse helped him onto his wheelchair and into the bathroom for the regular morning routine, an orderly removed the sweat-dampened bedsheets and replaced them with fresh ones, then removed the fourth ignored and browning banana from the bedside table and placed it in the trash container that was a part of her work cart.

"Do you want to get back into bed for a bit?" The nurse asked as she wheeled Bryce back into the room.

Bryce shook his head. "I'd like to visit Jenny if that's possible," he said. When the nurse didn't answer, he went on. "Please. I need to know if she's okay."

"Dr. Frewer will explain everything when she arrives," the nurse told him.

"Then back into bed is fine for now," Bryce decided.

Dr. Frewer was in her late fifties. A woman of middling height with light brown eyes and bluish grey hair, she had worked in the medical center for five years, having spent her previous years working for the World Health Organization and as a medic for the British Army.

She entered the room with a smile while the nurse was removing the bandages from Bryce's shoulder.

"I'm sorry if this hurts," the nurse said as she cleaned Bryce's shoulder with a gauze pad that had been treated with wound cleaner.

Bryce gritted his teeth for the briefest of moments and turned to Dr. Frewer.

"How is Jenny?" he asked.

"I can only tell you that she is alive and conscious," Dr. Frewer said. "You'll see her in a few days. I'm prescribing a six month period of recovery for you at the Harrisburg Center."

"When you say 'you'," Bryce asked, "you mean…"

"Seven of you survived," Dr. Frewer told him. "You, Miss Wilcox, and five others. We've spoken to both your parents and your employers. Tomorrow a counselor from the Center will come and talk to each of you privately. They will give you a brief overview of the place."

The nurse finished changing the bandages on Bryce's shoulder. She removed the bedcovers from his wounded leg and began to clean and change the dressing on that wound as well.

Bryce grimaced as he saw the stitches that marred his knee as well as the staples that ran down front of his lower leg.

"Don't worry about that," Dr. Frewer told him. "We've already arranged your visit for the next phase in your surgeries. And the Center you're going to has staff that are trained physical therapists, so you and the others who suffered injury will be getting regular care."

"When is Bryce coming back?" Edison asked Murray. "I know it won't be for a few weeks…"

"He's not coming back for six months," Murray told him. When Edison opened his mouth to protest, he put a hand up and continued."Dr. Frewer has prescribed a stay at a recovery center. Cheviot and Bryce's parents are all in agreement. Dr. Frewer says that Bryce and the other former hostages all need to deal with what's happened to them."

"When do they leave," Edison asked.

"In a few days," Murray said. "Cheviot wants you to do a story on the center. As a follow-up to the hostage rescue story. He spoke to the man who runs it and he says he'll be glad to give you a tour and do an interview as long as you agree not to, as he put it, pester the guests. Though he says he won't stop you from interviewing anyone who volunteers."

"What's the name of the place again?" Edison asked.

"The Harrisburg Center," Murray replied.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter One: The Harrisburg Center**

The building the Harrisburg Center was housed in wasn't much to look at. A rectangular structure, three stories tall, it stood on a few modest acres of land.

Near the front of the building was a small fishing pond and a grove of apple trees. The lawn wasn't what Edison expected. It wasn't neatly manicured, though Edison thought that it looked like it was at least mown a couple of times a week. He could see dandelions, clumps of crabgrass and clovers dotting the landscape.

He got out of the Network 23 company car and strode down the wide stone path, taping everything with his vidicam. He could edit out anything he didn't need later. He was met at the front door by a smiling man in a light tan doctor's coat.

"You must be Edison Carter," the man said, briskly. "I'm Dr. Richard Benson."

Dr. Benson looked about seventy; wrinkled and age-spotted with thinning white hair. He had one eye that had a severe cataract. Edison noticed that he was supporting himself with a cane and wondered if it was due to age or injury.

"Ah yes," Dr. Benson noticed where Edison was looking. "A fine piece of craftsmanship isn't it? I've had her since the Big Three."

Edison looked confused. Surely this man hadn't seen combat during World War III? He would've been about fifty five at least.

"Oh heavens! No, dear boy!" Dr. Benson laughed. "I didn't fight! At my age! Dear me, no! I was wounded in one of the bombings. My wife was killed, though my son Julian made it out unscathed. Lucky boy. It was that experience and the people who helped me to recover that made me decide to open this center."

"Harrisburg? Edison asked.

"My wife's maiden name was Harris," Dr. Benson explained. "I named it in her honor. Come with me and I'll give you a tour of the center."

Edison followed Dr. Benson through the front door.

"This is the treatment level," Dr. Harris told Edison. "Here we have staff offices, physical therapy, and psychological therapy both individual and group. At the moment our staff are busy preparing for some new arrivals."

"The ACS hostages," Edison said.

"Yes," Dr. Benson agreed. "Poor kids. I understand you're friends with one of them."

Edison nodded.

"Well, you can be assured that they will all be treated well." Dr. Benson said as they stepped into one of the elevators.

Getting out on the third floor, Dr. Benson led Edison through the archway that led into a long corridor.

There were five doors lined up. Edison looked up from the vidicam, which went on filming.

"I know what you're thinking, Mr. Carter," Dr. Benson said. "Five doors and seven guests. Behind each door is a small apartment set up to hold two people. I believe that it is best to house our guests in pairs so that each one will always have somebody there for them."

"What about guest number seven?" Edison asked.

"One of our staff members will room with him or her," Dr. Benson explained.

Edison followed Dr. Benson into one of the rooms. The tour was short. The main room was small, consisting of a mixture of open area kitchen and living room. Two doors led, from left to right, to the bedroom and bathroom. The bedroom was small and closet-free with a bunk bed and dresser. The bathroom had a corner tub, sink and toilet.

When they came out to the main room again, Edison noticed that it didn't seem to be completely furnished.

"It looks very cozy," he said. "Not very big, but certainly comfortable. No TV?"

"We keep our televisions on the recreation level below," Dr. Benson said. "Studies have shown that people who have been hostages are often upset by sudden newsflashes about their ordeal. So to prevent anyone being taken by surprise by such a report, it was decided to keep the TV sets out of the apartments."

"Makes sense," Edison said. "What sort of treatment plan do you offer?"

"We deal with each case individually," Dr. Benson said. "However, as you noticed we're only fifteen minutes from town. As our guests recover to the point where they feel more comfortable doing so, we encourage visits into town; always in pairs or groups. It usually takes time before a former hostage is fully comfortable returning to society. Even if the crisis was very brief, there are fears that linger. It will not be easy for those kids, but my staff and I will do everything we can to help."

"Well, thank you for the interview," Edison said.

"I'm sure that knowing what we are all about will put those kids' parents at ease," Dr. Benson said as they walked back to the front door.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Two: Arrival at Harrisburg Center**

The wheelchair van pulled up to the front doors of the Harrisburg center. Inside it were Bryce Lynch, Jenny Wilcox, Paul Williams, Winston Gray, Lisa Bayer, John Brandon, and Susan Franklin. Susan was humming tunelessly to herself as she sat next to Jenny, swaying anxiously as she clutched her stuffed pillow in her hands.

Susan had suffered a terrible brain trauma from a gunshot wound. And she had immediately gravitated to Jenny when she had regained consciousness.

Jenny didn't mind. It help take her mind off her own injury. She wasn't ready to deal with it yet.

The van driver parked and opened the large doors of the vehicle.

The first one out was a boy named Winston Gray.

Winston came from a well-to do family. Until attending ACS, he had grown up in Siberus Condos. He kept his slightly wavy blond hair at neck length. His green eyes surveyed the surrounding landscape as if trying to decide if he wanted to buy the place. He had been permanently paralyzed by a shot in the back.

"Thank you," he told the driver as his wheelchair was carefully maneuvered onto the chair lift and brought to ground level, allowing Winston to wheel himself forward and clear of the lift.

"You're welcome," the driver replied with a smile as raised to lift to retrieve Bryce, Susan, and Jenny. Jenny had to push Bryce's wheelchair due to his shoulder. Susan went because she was afraid to leave Jenny's side.

"Where are we?" Susan asked, speaking as though she were talking through a mouthful of peanut butter.

Bryce cringed a little at this and Jenny glared at him.

"It could've happened to either of us," she scolded him.

"That's exactly what I was thinking," Bryce replied with a shiver.

"Oh," Jenny said. "I thought it was distaste."

"Zik Zak burgers taste like cardboard," Susan remarked. She giggled as though she thought this was extremely funny.

"Actually, cardboard tastes better," Jenny said in a conspiratorial tone.

Bryce reflected that if Max Headroom had been around, he probably would've remarked how Zik Zak burgers seemed to hold the unique privilege of being the only food to not be compared with chicken, but didn't say anything.

The rest stepped out of the van.

"Looks nice out here," said Paul Williams, a tallish and stocky young man whose grandmother had come from Tobago. His arm was draped in a friendly manner over the shoulders of a girl named Lisa Bayer who looked down at the ground and said nothing.

A squirrel ran through one of the apple trees and made little crackling sounds.

Lisa yelped and hugged Paul, seeking comfort which he was glad to give.

"Its just a squirrel," he told her. "Nothing to worry about."

Lisa relaxed, but did not look up.

"I'll get it and make a nice hat for you," John Brandon told her, speaking in a poorly done fake Texas drawl.

Bryce had to admit that it wasn't really John's fault the accent was so bad. After all, Texas hadn't existed for about eleven years. For a brief moment he smiled as he remembered his pre-ACS days in grade school where he'd learned about the Great World Restructuring in history class.

"Bryce?" Jenny said, interrupting his thoughts as she walked him through the front door. "Do you think we'll be okay?"

"I don't know, Jenny," Bryce admitted. "I hope so."


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Three: Group Meeting**

"Welcome," Dr. Benson greeted them as the driver and a couple of staff members from the Center retrieved the suitcases. "First off, do any of you need to freshen up before we begin?"

Bryce was relieved to see he wasn't the only one as Paul also nodded.

Once they had returned, Dr. Benson continued.

"We'll have our first group and get to know one another," he said, kindly. "Then we'll tell you which rooms you'll be in. After that, we'll have lunch."

The teens followed Dr. Benson into the cafeteria. There were four round tables leaning against the wall along with a number of chairs. Several chairs had been drawn into a circle in the middle of the room.

Bryce and Winston rolled their wheelchairs over to the circle while the others sat in the seats that had been provided.

Dr. Benson looked at the door for a moment, then smiled as a woman in her mid thirties stepped into the room.

"Everyone, this is Nurse Eve Taylor," Dr. Benson introduced her.

"I hope to make your stay here as comfortable as possible," Nurse Taylor said. "But don't think that means I'm going to go easy on you. Those of you who will be engaging in physical therapy will soon find out that I am not going to let you fail. Each of you has it in himself or herself to succeed. And I am going to help you do just that."

"I don't think you'll be making me walk anytime soon, Nurse," Paul remarked caustically.

"Walk? Perhaps not. But by the time I'm through, you won't even be thinking of sitting in a corner and feeling sorry for yourself."

"Wasn't planning on it," Paul told her.

"No, but there will be times when it will be tempting." Nurse Taylor said.

"Okay, then," Dr. Benson said. "Let's each tell the rest a little about ourselves. I know you were once in school together as kids. But consider this the reunion that was taken away from you. Here's your chance to tell everyone what you've been up to and also to say how your recent ordeal has affected you." He turned to Paul. "Since you've already begun, why don't you first remind us your name and then tell us how this has affected you."

"My name is Paul Williams," Paul said. "And the only thing I'm willing to say right now is that ever since that day I've been having some pretty freaky dreams."

"That's perfectly normal," Dr. Benson told him. "We'll help you deal with those. What about what you were doing before the event?"

"I was head of R&D at Network 89," Paul said.

"I was at RadTV," John said. "Also head of R&D."

"We're all heads of Research and Development from the major Networks," Bryce said, matter-of-factly. "That's the reason we were targeted."

"Which Network holds your leash?" John asked.

"Network 23," Bryce said. "I also work as a member of Edison Carter's news team."

"Very nice," Winston remarked. "Working with Edison Carter is very prestigious."

"That's hardly the case when you're working behind the scenes," Bryce said. "Though I have met a few interesting people."

"And what about you, dear?" Nurse Taylor asked Susan.

Susan clutched her pillow as she spoke in her soft and slurred voice. "I worked… work… for CricketVision," she tried to say. It wasn't very understandable, however, and she pounded the pillow in frustration.

Jenny put a soothing hand on her shoulder, "it's okay, Sue," she said. "I understand what you're saying." She looked up. "Susan works for CricketVision."

"You're very good at picking up her words," Bryce mentioned.

"My grandmother had a stroke when I was little," Jenny explained. "I learned how to listen because I love her."

"What about you?" Nurse Taylor asked Lisa.

"My name is Lisa Bayer," Lisa said, timidly.

"Which Network do you work for?" Dr. Benson asked.

Lisa's face went beet red out of embarrassment. "I'd rather not say."

"Bad ratings?" Bryce inquired.

"Channel 69?" John asked, slyly.

Lisa looked mortified while Bryce just looked confused.

"There is no Channel 69," he remarked.

"Remind me to have a talk with you sometime, Bryce," John said in a stage whisper.

"Don't corrupt Bryce!" Jenny scolded.

"He's already been corrupted," Winston said. "We all have. Every single one of us has lost their innocence. Maybe not in a sex way. But we've all experienced some form of psychological torture."

"That's what you're all here to deal with," Dr. Benson said. "Now, here is how the rooming situation is going to go. Jenny, I was going to room you with Bryce. However I think Susan will benefit greatly if she is with you, so Bryce I'm going to room you with Lisa instead. John, you'll be with Winston. And Paul you'll be rooming with Dr. Richard Lawrence. There are private kitchens in each apartment. However, on Sundays we have a mandatory brunch and gathering. It's not a church service, let me emphasize that. We gather on Sundays to discuss how we are doing over brunch in a casual and non-threatening environment. Now, go ahead and head up to your apartments. When you're done, feel free to either relax in your apartment or visit the recreation hall on the second floor."


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Four: Lunch**

After half an hour, Dr. Benson went up to the apartments, knocking on each door to tell his guests that it was time for lunch. Jenny and Susan didn't answer their door, so he checked the second floor.

They were seated at one of the tables playing a game of dominoes.

"Brunch is being served now, ladies," he told them. "Remember, this is Sunday so it's mandatory today.'

Susan swept the tiles into the box with a huff and stormed over to the elevator, muttering in frustration.

"We'll play again after lunch," Jenny told her.

"Okay," Susan agreed, sullenly.

Jenny waved to Bryce as the walked into the cafeteria. He was already sitting at a table with Lisa, Paul, and Winston.

"We saved you two a couple of seats," Winston said. "Please, join us."

Jenny sat next to Bryce. There wasn't room next to her for Susan, but there was room next to Winston.

Susan pouted. She wanted to sit next to Jenny.

Seeing what was going on, Bryce sighed and moved to the spot next to Winston, giving Susan the spot next to Jenny.

"Thanks, Bryce," Jenny told him. "So, how's your apartment?"

"Small," Bryce told her. "But it'll hold two comfortably."

"I'm guessing that all rooms are identically furnished," Winston said.

Dr. Benson drew everyone's attention to himself as he stood at the front of the cafeteria. There were four others with him, two dressed in scrubs.

"Again, I'd like to welcome each of you to the Harrisburg Center," he told them. "Earlier today you met Nurse Taylor. Now I'd like you to meet some more of our staff."

The first to step forward was a man of forty. He had bright blue eyes and brown hair and was dressed in a pair of faded jeans and a blue polo shirt.

"My name is Steven Adams," he said. "I've been a counselor at Harrisburg for three years. My main field of study is post traumatic stress disorder."

The next was a Black woman in her late twenties with a stern smile and horn-rimmed glasses. She was dressed in jogging pants and a light-weight shirt.

"I'm Dr. Maggie Wilkins," she said, in a friendly tone. "I'll be keeping all of you in shape. Those of you who can't exercise now will have me for physical therapy as time goes by." she looked meaningfully at Bryce. "We'll get that leg and shoulder working in time. You just wait and see."

Dr. Benson waved to those who were not dressed in scrubs. "This is Jack Moll, Joe Flanigan, Meagan Mulroon and Lionel Mulroon. They are our orderly, custodian, and cafeteria staff. When you've finished eating, please check the schedule on the lunchroom wall. Please note that exercise is a mandator activity unless you are physically unable to do so. The other activities listed are semi-voluntary I say 'semi' because you are each required to do at least two non-exercise and non-brunch activities each week. That is all for this week, since we had an introductory Group earlier today. Also, something not listed on the schedule. I make a weekly run to the grocer's each Saturday afternoon. I know you're not ready yet. But when any of you feel you wish to begin filtering back into visiting public locations, if you wish to do so, you may accompany me and aid me in the shopping."

Bryce and the others shrugged at the idea.

"That is all," Dr. Benson reiterated.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Five: Decisions**

When Jenny wheeled Bryce over to the wall, he found there was not one, but two lists.

The first one was the activities list. It had an array of things on it such as _jogging, art therapy, board games, football (soccer), gardening and music. _

The second one was the chores list. Each day of the week named three rooms and which of them would be cleaning in those rooms. It did not specify who would do each chore. Bryce had the feeling this was to prevent the ex-hostages from feeling as though they were being controlled again.

Bryce looked the first one over and decided to take football and music for the first week. Then he went over to the chore list.

He noticed that there were a couple of days in which Susan would be working away from Jenny. That was good, he thought. He knew that sooner or later Susan would have to stop clinging to Jenny and learn to survive on her own again. Jenny had her own recovering to do, after all. And the corridors, the only chore she would be doing alone, were the easiest to do. Just vacuum, dust the baseboards, and wipe the windows.

As it was Sunday, there were no chores to do that particular day. The activities for the day were exercise and brunch which were both mandatory.

Bryce looked at the activities for the rest of the week. They included gardening, creative arts, electronics, games, sports, a movie and a mandatory group on Wednesdays. He had never been much into sports, but he considered that building up some body strength might help him protect himself should another incident occur.

He signed up for piano lessons. "I wish I could take judo," he said. "But with my body being in the state it's in…"

"You can," Adams told him. "Though you can't practice the falls, kicks, or jumps, you can have your leg and shoulder exercised as an extension of physical therapy and learn the meditative calming and relaxation practices."

"That'll be useful," Bryce decided.

"If you sign up for those two," Adams continued, "you'll be expected to take them every week. I think you'll find them very useful, mind you. So they are good choices."

Bryce decided to stick with the plan. He didn't want to be victimized again.

"I'm next," Paul said. "By the way, what are you going to do about chores, with your shoulder and knee the way they are."

"I still have one good arm," Bryce said. "I can wipe the window sills and table tops."

"Don't try to stretch too much," Dr. Benson cautioned, hearing this. "Do just the edges of the tables on your days. I'll have someone else get the middles."

"Okay," Bryce agreed as Jenny moved his wheelchair so that Paul could sign the activities list..


	7. Chapter 7

_The Story So Far: In "20 Minutes into Terror" Bryce Lynch and his classmates were taken hostage by a terrorist group called The Seventh Wave Anti-Television League". Many were killed. Many who survived were seriously wounded and it was decided that they would benefit from a stay at a trauma recovery center just outside town called the Harrisburg Center_

Journey Down a Hard Road

Chapter 7: Games and Tears

The elevator doors had barely closed behind Jenny and Bryce when Susan pulled her away from Bryce.

"Where were you?" Susan demanded, angrily. "You're supposed to take care of me!"

"I told you," Jenny said, trying to be patient. Bryce could tell she was reaching the end of her tether. "I wanted to get Bryce so he could be here, too."

"No!" Susan shouted. "He doesn't need you! Little Ice Prince doesn't need anyone!"

"He needs me almost as much as you do right now," Jenny told her. "Maybe more in some ways."

"Hey, Bryce," Winston said from one of the dominoes tables. "Fancy a game?"

"Of dominoes?" Bryce rolled his eyes. "Really, what's the point? There's no logic to the game at all. It's just matching numbers."

"Exactly," Winston laughed. "An excellent way to relax."

Bryce frowned. How was he supposed to relax, he wondered, when simple sounds like thunder sent him into a state of near panic? He doubted that he would ever truly feel safe enough to relax again.

"How can you be so relaxed after what happened to us?" he demanded. "We almost died!"

"Who said I'm relaxed?" Winston asked him. "I'm just as anxious as you are. I'm just trying to find a way to take my mind off it."

"Why don't you go ahead, Bryce," Jenny suggested. "Play a game of dominoes with Winston. I know I asked you to play chess, but Susan's getting really agitated and I don't want a scene."

"Okay," Bryce agreed.

Jenny moved Bryce's wheelchair in place at the dominoes table where Winston sat.

"You think you'll win?" Winston asked, raising an eyebrow. "This is, after all, a game of skill, not logic."

"I think my skill is at least equal to yours," Bryce replied.

"We'll see about that," Winston set down the first domino. "Whatever happened to your graduation project, by the way? The artificial fly?"

"Cheviot swatted it," Bryce muttered. Second domino.

"I didn't quite catch that." Winston raised a brow as he set the third domino.

Bryce knew he had, but didn't argue. "I said," he repeated instead in a slightly louder voice, "Cheviot swatted my artificial fly."

Winston laughed at that. "Nice. Just proves how successful the project actually was."

"Maybe I should've made it a butterfly," Bryce wondered aloud. "People don't swat butterflies."

"There's always next time," Winston reassured him as he set another domino.

"Why would I build another electronic insect?" Bryce asked.

"To spy on the people who did this to us?" Winston suggested.

"They're already taken care of," Bryce reminded him.

"Do you really think those few who were there are the only members?" Winston asked. "Use your head, Bryce!"

"Do you really think I want to see any of that group again?" Bryce asked.

"None of us do," Winston said. "But we have to."

Bryce considered it. Winston did have a point. If they didn't find the hideout of the terrorist group and bring them to justice their Networks, jobs, and very lives would be at stake.

"You're right," he finally said. "We have to. But we need to do better than an electronic butterfly. We have to think smaller."

"What do you suggest, then? Nanites?"

"Brilliant!" Bryce laughed. "I'll contact Blank Bruno after we're done playing and have him get us the equipment we need. He used to work at ACS so he knows the names and addresses of their distributors."

"I was joking, Bryce," Winston said. "There's no way we can equip a nanite with a visual transmitter."

"You mean there's no way yet," Bryce told him. "Don't worry, I'll figure it out."


	8. Chapter 8

Journey Down a Hard Road

Chapter 8: Preparing to Fight Back

Blank Bruno looked over the lines of code for his newest signal enhancement program. On the corner of his desk, the well-behaved frog he'd named God sat and watched him with bulbous eyes.

Bruno was corrected an error he'd spotted when he saw Bryce's face appear on his vu-phone screen.

Knowing that Bryce and some of the other former students from ACS were recovering from a recent hostage situation at the Harrisburg Center, he answered the phone with more than a little curiosity.

"Bryce, it's good to talk, but are you supposed to be calling? I thought these places had a six week waiting period before they let you contact the outside world."

"They might," Bryce said. "I don't know. I want to work on a nanite project," Bryce said. "I need supplies. I want to get some visual records of the terrorists left in the organization that took us captive."

"You know that there's no camera lense small enough to capture the images for a nanite recorder," Blank Bruno pointed out.

"I'm thinking of using a synesthesic interface," Bryce told him. "You have heard of synesthesia, right?"

"The jumbling of sensations, 'hearing colors'," Blank Bruno remembered. "What are you going to convert to sight?"

"I'm thinking of an olfactory-to-optic transfer," Bryce told them. "Scent is more consistent than other senses."

"It'll take about six weeks," Bruno pointed out.

"Well, we're going to be here for six months," Bryce said, "so that's fine with me."

At the Harrisburg Center, Dr. Benson had spotted Bryce on the phone. He had a policy of not allowing phone calls for the first month or so, to allow his clients time to clear their minds of all the publicity and control that others tried to force upon them.

"You need to get off the vu-phone, Mr. Lynch," He said, sternly.

"Whoops! Gotta go!" Bryce apologized, hanging up.

"I hope you know that will cost you an extra three days without phone privileges," the doctor told him. "I know it might not seem fair, but we have reasons for our rules. I just hope whatever your call was about was worth it."

"It was," Bryce remarked with a dark smile on his face "It was most definitely worth it."

Jenny stood up from the table where she and Susan had been playing chess and walked over Bryce. "Can he get us the parts?"

"They'll be here in about six weeks," Bryce told her. "We'll try and pinpoint the group's most likely location in the meantime. That will allow me to write a guidance program which'll send our little friends where they need to go."

"Have you figured out how to get past the video input problem?" Jenny asked.

"Synesthesic interface," Bryce replied. "Conversion of scent input to sight output."

"Will it work?" Winston asked as he joined them.

"Honestly, I'm not certain." Bryce admitted "It's never been done artificially before. We know it's possible because the human brain has done it. But nobody is exactly sure how the mistranslation takes place."

"So it's hit or miss?" Jenny asked.

"Not entirely," Bryce said. "in this case we know what senses we want to start and end with. It's just a matter of getting from point A to point B without creating a false positive for the output."

"So, what is the solution?" Winston asked.

"I'm still working on that," Bryce told them. "We have six weeks before the parts arrive, so I suggest we all work on it together and try to come up with something by the time they do."


	9. Chapter 9

Journey Down a Hard Road

Chapter 9: Special Delivery

"I have a delivery for a Bryce Lynch," the man at the door told the orderly who answered.

"Wait here," the orderly said, closing the door. He returned a minute later with Dr. Benson.

"Are you Bryce Lynch?" the delivery man asked

"No, I'm Dr. Benson. I run the clinic. I understand you have a package for Mr. Lynch."

"Yes, sir," the delivery man told him.

"Get Bryce Lynch," Dr. Benson told the orderly.

The orderly departed and came back wheeling Bryce in front of him.

"Package," the delivery man said.

"Oh! Good. The nanite components are in."

"What do you plan to use them for?" Dr. Benson asked as Bryce signed for the package and set it on his lap.

The delivery man departed.

"We plan to spy on the surviving members of the group who landed us here," Bryce replied. "The spybots we're making will be so small, you'd need a microscope to see them."

"Fascinating," Dr. Benson remarked. "Of course I know something about nanites. They're very useful in many medical procedures. But most of them use ultrasound for imagery, which I don't believe will work outside the human body."

"We have that covered," Bryce said simply as he maneuvered his wheelchair to the lift pushed the button, and brought the nanite kit up to the recreation level.

"You got it," Jenny observed as she and Winston joined him.

"Where's Susan?" Bryce inquired.

"Taking a nap," Jenny told him. "She's been really tired lately. Says the doctor thinks it's a side-effect of her brain injury."

"Funny that it's just starting to show up," Bryce remarked. "We've been here for weeks."

"Sometimes that happens," Jenny shrugged. "What about you? How are you progressing?"

"I start with the crutches tomorrow," Bryce told her. "Nurse Taylor says my shoulder is finally strong enough to try."

"Are we going to start the assembly today," Winston asked.

"On Monday," Bryce told them. "We'll use the next Sunday brunch to determine who wants in on this venture. And we'll assemble the parts in me and Lisa's apartment. Less chance of losing things that way."

"Agreed," Winston said while Jenny nodded.


	10. Chapter 10

Journey Down a Hard Road

Chapter 10: Major Setback in Their Plans

"So," Nurse Taylor smiled as Bryce wheeled into the physical therapy room. "Think you're ready to try the crutches today?"

"I've been looking forward to it ever since you suggested it," Bryce admitted.

"I have to warn you, Bryce," the nurse said, her tone not unkind, "this will be very difficult and extremely uncomfortable."

"At least I'll be out of this chair," Bryce observed. "That's worth any discomfort in my opinion."

"Okay, then," Nurse Taylor told him. "Now, first I want to see you with the bars again."

Bryce grabbed the two bars and carefully pulled himself up out of the chair. He'd stumbled the first few times, but now he found he could lift himself without overbalancing.

"Well done," Nurse Taylor praised. "You've come a long way these past four weeks.

Bryce felt a moment of dizziness. He supposed he had just stood up too fast in his eagerness to get out of the chair.

"Let's first see how you do getting from one end of the bars to the other," Nurse Taylor suggested.

Setting his jaw in determination, Bryce made his way slowly and carefully to the other end of the exercise bars.

"Well done!" Nurse Taylor smiled. "Okay, now. I'm going to give you these crutches one at a time. Use the bars to balance yourself, and only take each crutch when you feel certain you are ready."

Bryce took the first crutch. With one hand on the bar, he placed the crutch under his arm, wincing as it lifted him up to his toes.

"Looks a little high," Nurse Taylor told him, taking it back and adjusting it. "Try it now."

"Much better," Bryce said as the crutch fit nicely under his arm.

"Are you ready for the other one?" Nurse Taylor asked.

"Just a moment, I feel a little dizzy," Bryce told him.

"Do you want to sit back down?" the nurse asked.

"No," Bryce replied. "I j-..."

He was on the floor, unconscious, a moment later.

Nurse Taylor tried to revive him, but Bryce was unresponsive. She pressed the emergency button on the wall.

"What's going on?" Jenny asked from the checkers table as the siren sound drew near. She got up and went to the elevator, hoping she'd get to the first floor before whichever of her friends was in need of a doctor was gone.

Reaching the first floor, she saw the paramedics lifting Bryce onto the stretcher.

"Bryce!" she cried out, rushing to them.

"Stay back, miss," the paramedics told her.

"Please, he's my friend!"

"Miss, just stay back. We have to get him to the hospital as quickly as possible."

"Bryce…" Jenny tried to rushed forward again.

"Miss Wilcox," Dr. Benson said, "I'm sorry. He's in a coma."

"A…"

"I'm sure the doctors at the hospital will keep us up to date."


	11. Chapter 11

Journey Down a Hard Road

Chapter 11: Midnight Run

Jenny wheeled Winston aside. "We've got to get out of here."

"And go where?" Winston asked. "I can't walk. How far do you think we'll get with me in this chair?"

"We can take the van," Jenny told him. "Damn it! Why didn't we see it earlier? They told us we could go into town anytime we wished. But don't you see? Town is so far away none of us would even consider it."

"Jenny," Winston said, soothingly. "I know you're upset about Bryce. But be reasonable. Why would anyone here want to hurt him?"

"I don't know," Jenny admitted. "Maybe it's just a coincidence. I just think it's strange that his collapse happened right after we got that package we requested."

"So, maybe it had something to do with the package?" Winston said. "Can we have it tested?"

"No," Jenny shook her head. "We already threw away the wrapper. And they picked up the trash an hour ago."

"And Bryce only unwrapped it, right? He didn't open it…"

"Blank Bruno sent those nanites, Winston!" Jenny pointed out, slamming her fist against the wall. "He was our teacher. He'd never harm a former student."

"It doesn't have to be him, Jenny," Winston argued. "If it was opened by a postal inspector…"

"And what if it wasn't the package, Winston," Jenny said, returning to her original train of thought. "What if it was Dr. Benson… or any of the staff here? My god, Winston! What if it's one of the cafeteria workers? What if they're poisoning us?"

"No one else has shown any signs of poisoning," Winston pointed out. "Look, sometimes blood clots can form when there's a serious injury and can cause all kinds of problems if they move to the brain. There was probably a clot in his leg that was dislodged when he stood up."

"He's been practicing with the walking bars for a week. Why now?" Jenny shook her head. "No, dammit. Someone tried to kill him. And I doubt he's the only one they'll go after."

"But we don't know who it was," Winston pointed out. "And until we do…"

"We're no safer out there than in here," Jenny agreed. "Except maybe with one person..."

"Edison Carter," Winston realized.

At midnight Jenny knocked on Winston's door. When she got no answer, she decided not to risk pounding on the door to wake him.

She decided she would sneak out by herself. The van would be too noisy, now that she thought about it more. It would be safer this way. And if they went after her… well she'd deal with that problem when it arose.

She dashed past each office, staying flush against the wall. She'd seen the maneuver in spy shows. She never knew why people didn't see you as well against a wall as they did in the middle of the room. But she never questioned it and now wasn't the time to start.

Making it to the door, she prayed it wasn't alarmed. Carefully, she slid it open until it was wide enough for her to fit through. Then she ran down the path that led to the main road and the nearest city that was five miles away.

The constant buzzing and banging on his door finally got Edison's attention.

"It's two in the morning," he said.

"I'm sorry to disturb you after you must've spent a long day at the hospital with Bryce," Jenny told him. "But-"

"What are you talking about?" Edison asked. "Bryce is at the Harrisburg Center."

"Maybe you don't recognize me since you were so focused on Bryce during the story. I just came from the Harrisburg Center. I don't know who is at fault. All I know is that Bryce was taken to the hospital yesterday afternoon in a coma."

"What?" Edison demanded. "Tell me everything you know."

"Bryce wanted to fight back," Jenny explained. "He wanted to find out more about the terrorists using synesthetic nanites. We ordered some through Blank Bruno. Then the day after they arrived, Bryce collapsed. He didn't open the inner package, just removed the wrapper. So it can't be the nanites themselves."

"And you're sure it wasn't from a blood clot," Edison said.

"If it had been, why didn't the Center call you? Why didn't they tell anyone about Bryce?"

"Good question."

"Oh, god…" Jenny said, stumbling onto the bed and beginning to cry. "What if he's dead. What if he's already in freeze-down at the body bank or they've already started to...? Bryce…"

Edison put a blanket over Jenny and stroked her hair as an older brother might do.

"Get some rest," he told her. "You're exhausted. I'll find out what I can."


	12. Chapter 12

Journey Down a Hard Road

Chapter 12: Dangerous Predicament

After Jenny had fallen asleep, Edison sat down in front of his vu-phone and tapped in the number for the local medical center.

A blond woman appeared on the vu-phone screen. She was seated at a reception desk drinking a cup of what Edison guessed was coffee.

"Northside Medical Center. How can we help you?"

"I need to know if you have a patient there named Bryce Lynch?"

After a moment of checking on her computer she looked up. "I'm afraid there doesn't seem to be anyone here by that name. I can show you our recent Blank Does."

Edison nodded. After seeing the people on the list, he shook his head.

With a heavy heart, he contacted Nightingale's Body Bank.

"I am hoping that you don't have a Bryce Lynch in your facility." he said, anxiously.

"When would he have been brought in?" Florence asked.

"Sometime during the past 24 hours."

Florence checked. "No," she told him. "Do you want to see our Blank Does?"

Edison nodded.

After a thorough check, he was relieved to find that Bryce was not in the body bank.

So where was he?

"They don't have Bryce at the medical center or the body bank," Edison told Jenny the next morning.

"But he was in a coma! They took him away in an ambulance!" Jenny protested. "They have to have him somewhere."

"Okay, let's have a look at the staff at the Harrisburg Center," Edison suggested. "One of them might be affiliated with a private clinic. They may have brought Bryce there."

"Then it has to be one of the staff who's trying to kill us," Jenny decided.

Edison ducked into the bathroom. When he came back out he was fully showered and dressed for work.

"You can't go into work!" Jenny protested. "I need you! Bryce needs you!"

"I can utilize better resources at Network 23," Edison told her. "And I'll need Theora's help with this."

"Fine," Jenny said. "But I'm coming along. I mean it. I don't care what Network policy says about it. Bryce is my friend. I'm not letting you or anyone else telling me I can't be involved in saving him."

Dr. Wilkins walked into the small room and looked over at Bryce. He was lying on the bed with several monitors hooked up to his body.

"Has brain damage set in?" she asked the middle aged man who was standing beside her.

"Not yet," Dr. Meyer replied. "A coma usually takes at least two weeks to cause problems with brain function."

"That's not fast enough," Dr. Wilkins told him. "He could be found in that time. We've got to damage him faster than that."

"The most untraceable substance that can cause brain damage that we have available is belladonna extract," Dr. Meyer told her. "It would have to be done gradually for it to appear as a natural event. It would take at least four days to begin having any effect that the rate I'm speaking of."

"Begin administration immediately," Dr. Wilkins ordered.

"It could kill him," Dr. Meyer pointed out, glancing over at Bryce.

Dr. Wilkins didn't even pause to consider this as she repeated. "Immediately."


	13. Chapter 13

Journey Down a Hard Road

Chapter 13

"Whatever you've got planned for tonight's story, drop it."

Murray and Theora looked up as Edison hurried into the control room with Jenny following.

"Edison, guests are not permitted." Murray warned.

"Stop quoting the rules, Murray," Edison retorted. "Jenny is a friend of Bryce's. She was at the center with him."

"You brought an employee from a rival network into the heart of Network 23!" Murray exclaimed. "Which Network are you loyal to?"

"I am employed by…"

"It doesn't matter, Murray," Edison said. "Jenny here says that Bryce is in danger. "He was taken from the center by an ambulance."

"Please, sir," Jenny begged. "You have to help me find him before it's too late. He was going to work on a spybot to learn more about that terrorist organization, the Seventh Wave. But he fell into a coma and was taken to an unknown location."

"You're saying that Bryce is in danger." Murray realized.

"If he remains in a coma for more than two weeks, brain damage will begin to set it," Theora explained.

"If he's been hidden somewhere away from proper medical care," Murray said, "you can be sure they'll do whatever they can to speed up the process. We don't have weeks. We have days. Maybe hours."

Theora began typing out the codes that would link the Network 23 computer with the System.

"I can't find the Harrisburg Center," she told them after an intensive search.

"They may not be listed," Edison suggested. "That itself may be legitimate to prevent reporters from disturbing the patients. But if someone from the Seventh Wave infiltrated the Center somehow…"

"Jenny," Theora said. "can you remember the names of the staff members who work at the Harrisburg Center?"

"I think so," Jenny replied. "There's Dr. Benson,"

Theora typed in Dr. Benson's name. "He works at the local Medical Center and the Harrisburg Center. That's it."

"Nurse Eve Taylor,"

Theora repeated the search with Dr. Taylor's name and got identical results.

The search went on until Theora keyed in Dr. Wilkins' name.

"East Garden Asylum," Theora's face went white. "If they've taken him there…"

"It would be a perfect location to hide a patient who was deliberately damaged," Edison realized. "Destroy the brain then they would be lost amongst the patients who came in damaged by drug addiction or traffic accidents."

"The place is like a fortress, Edison," Murray told him. "And once you get inside, what's to prevent them from labeling you as a patient and preventing your escape?"

"I don't know," Edison said. "But I know I'm not leaving Bryce in there. Bryce is brilliant, Murray. To have his mind destroyed would be the cruelest fate of all."

"Edison," Jenny said. "I'm going with you."

"No," Edison said. "I won't risk you, too."

"Then promise me something," Jenny said, tears welling up in her eyes.

"You don't need to ask," Edison said. "If I find Bryce irrevocably damaged… I will kill him."


	14. Chapter 14

Journey Down a Hard Road

Chapter 14

Dr. Wilkins entered Bryce's room at the asylum. Bryce was still comatose, the heart monitor beeped steadily in the background, all but ignored by Dr. Wilkins and Dr. Meyer who was busy with the IV fluid drip that hung beside the bed.

"How's the treatment we discussed?" She asked, shooting a contemptuous look at the boy in the bed.

"Just adding the second dose," he replied as he added the contents of the syringe to Bryce's IV. "15 c.c.'s of belladonna extract."

"And the effects so far?"

"He's in the early stages of hemispheric brain dysfunction. At this point,if he were to wake up he will experience periods of disorientation. Confusion. He won't be confused all the time, but they will occur at irregular intervals, interfering with daily routine, work, and so on."

"Go on. What comes next?" Dr. Wilkins inquired.

"Loss of fine motor control," Dr. Meyer told her. "Further hemispheric brain dysfunction. Blindness. For the first three days, those effects can be reversed with pilocarpine. After that, however, the damage will be permanent."

"There's still a danger of rescue," Dr. Wilkins said, worriedly. "You can't speed up the process."

"No," Dr. Meyer told her. "The dosage I'm giving him now would be easily assessed as an accidental overdose caused by a fault in his chart."

"Of course," Dr. Wilkins said, nodding in agreement. "Would you excuse me, I have a phone call to make."

"Due to technical difficulties…" the TV screen announced in the Board Room at Network 23, "the Edison Carter show will not be shown tonight. In it's place, we bring you an encore presentation of I Go Pogo."

"G-g-great,"Max Headroom interrupted. "2 hours of men jumping on sticks."

"Actually," Ashwell corrected him, "it's about a possum."

"A possum jumping around on a stick," Max's sarcasm reached new highs. "Brilliant! Even better!"

"Why isn't Edison Carter on air?" Lauren asked. "I thought we had tonight's show in hand?"

"That's something I'm about to find out," Cheviot said, tapping in the vu-phone number for the Control room.

"Sir," Janie Crane said, answering the phone.

"Get. Me. Murray."

"Murray and the Edison Carter team left here about forty minutes ago, sir," Janie told him.

"Left? Less than a hour before a broadcast?" Cheviot was very displeased.

"I didn't hear what they were saying very clearly," Janie admitted. "But the gist of it is that Bryce was in very serious danger and they were going to try and rescue him."

"Well, they'd better hurry," Cheviot said watching as the cartoon possum danced to the gravelly voice of Walt Kelly. "We can't do two nights of Pogo in a row."

"Dr. Benson," Edison said on the vu-phone at Blank Bruno's apartment. "Why didn't you tell me that Bryce was taken to the hospital?"

"Patient privacy," Dr. Benson replied, simply.

"So you don't know that Bryce wasn't taken to the medical center."

"Of course he was," Dr. Benson argued. "I signed the release forms for the medical center myself."

"Nevertheless, he was taken to the asylum," Edison said. "The one that Dr. Wilkins, your colleague, works at."

"That's three we've lost, then," Dr. Benson said, not seeing Jenny who wasn't in the visual range of Bruno's vu-phone. "Bryce is in a coma, Jenny is missing, and we had one die in their sleep."

"Who?" Edison asked.

"I'm sorry, I can't give out that information."


	15. Chapter 15

Journey Down a Hard Road

Chapter 15: Take the Darkest Path

Edison got his friend Rik to give him a ride past the East Garden Asylum. He wanted to see the layout of the place, to find out if there was any way he could get inside without alerting staff.

The place was huge, with a dull grey wrought-iron fence surrounding it.

"Looks like a graveyard," Rik remarked.

"A grave for the mind," Edison replied, darkly.

"I don't see any way you're going to be able to get in," Rik said. "There's no chance of putting on a disguise. You're Network 23's best known presenter."

"So what do you suggest?" Edison asked.

"We have to find somebody who can impersonate a doctor. Someone who is strong enough to handle a tough orderly or two if necessary."

"What about Blank Reg?" Edison asked.

"Again, too well known," Rik said with a shake of his head. "Same deal with Blank Bruno after that Sunset Scare a few months ago. Actually, everyone you've been in contact with is pretty well-known. Though I can think of one man who's known by name and reputation only."

"I'm not sending Breughal in after Bryce," Edison said. "I want Bryce in one piece."

"Considering the alternative, I don't think you have a choice," Rik told him.

Jenny had no problems hacking into the East Garden Asylum's securicam system. Though it did take five tries before she found Bryce's room.

"Oh, Bryce," she said, frowning at how fragile he looked amidst all the machines, tubes, and wires. She watched him for a few more minutes, then rewound the securicam feed until she saw the images Dr. Meyer and Dr. Wilkins.

"15 c.c.'s of belladonna extract…"

Theora and Jenny stared at the monitor in horror.

"If they've been giving him that much since the beginning," Jenny said, her voice full of regret, "then brain damage must have already set in."

"It might still be early enough for it to be reversed." Theora told her. "Don't give up hope too quickly."

"I hope so," Jenny told Theora. "Bryce is very proud of his intellect. To lose even a tenth of it would devastate him."

Jenny returned the securicam to real-time. She sat there, watching Bryce lie there, each second bringing him closer to ruin and death.

She remembered the way he'd been at ACS. That rainy day when they had both begun their time as students at the Academy.

Bryce had been very calm for his age. If he'd felt any excitement at attending such a prestigious school he didn't show it. At least not in ways that most people could see.

Jenny had seen it, though. That quiet sparkle in his eyes that she recognized from all those times she'd looked in a mirror at the college girl she'd become.

She had joined him in the hall as they'd waited to attend their first lecture. Theirs had been an awkward introduction, since he'd been rather shy at the time.

Jenny had persisted, however, and they had eventually become good friends. They had been lab partners on several ventures including a program that changed TV programs from High Def to Hyper-Def and solving the riddle of Schroedinger's Cat in a clever manner by standing up together in front of the class and announcing simultaneously that the cat was alive and dead.

The ouzo bar was packed as it was every Saturday night. Edison walked over to the bar when Breughal stood. There was a half-pint of something that looked like lager, but was a little too orange in color standing on the bar beside him.

"Been keeping out of trouble?"

Breughal looked up at Edison with a smirk. "Ninety nine percent of our current stock is legally dead." he told the reporter.


	16. Chapter 16

Journey Down a Hard Road

Chapter 16: A Deal With a Devil

"Dr. Meyer?"

Dr. Meyer turned at the gates to the asylum and saw a brutal-looking man standing behind him. "Who are you?"

"Breughal. And I understand you've taken on a few difficult patients recently. The type you wish would just… go away?"

"What's it to you?" Dr. Meyer demanded sharply.

"Let's just say I have way of making people… disappear." He waggled a large needle he'd brought with him. "So, here's the deal. I'm a little short on stock this month. And I can't afford to off another Mahler. So… you provide me with a selection of fresh bodies, hand-picked by me, and I will take a dangerous liability off your hands."

"We have just one I'm willing to hand off to you."

Dr. Meyer didn't want a televised scandal. He was having enough problems getting free lab rats as it was.

"I want three," Breughal told him. "Surely you have a lobotomy or two that didn't go as planned?"

"We have a dozen or so of those," Dr. Meyer admitted.

"Then do we have a deal, doctor?"

Dr. Meyer smiled. He would be able to get rid of Bryce and nobody would be able to trace it back to him. "We have a deal."

"You can't be serious!" Theora exploded at Edison. "What were you thinking! Sending Breughal in to poison Bryce!"

"I've already got a team of doctors ready with the antidote at the medical center," Edison argued. "As long as we get Bryce to them within fifteen minutes of being injected they should be able to reverse the effects."

"What about the previous injections?" Murray asked. "Did you take those into account?"

"There is no other way to get him out. The doctors will know if he's alive or dead. Even a psychiatrist knows what to look for."

"Hello, Bryce," Breughal said quietly as he unhooked the machines and tubes from Bryce and carefully injected the contents of his syringe into the teen's arm.

He piled Bryce's body onto the gurney with a man and a woman, who each bore an identical scar on their foreheads, both of whom were recently deceased.

"So young," he said, shaking his head. "Such a pity."

"Where the hell is Breughal," Edison demanded as they reached the hospital. The grey van was nowhere in sight."

"He probably took Bryce to the body bank," Murray complained. "I knew we shouldn't have trusted him."

"If he did, he's going to be their next guest," Edison vowed.

"Here he is," Reg said, pointing at the grey van as it came barrelling into the parking lot.

"In a hurry," Breughal told him, dumping Bryce in an empty parking space, then driving off, just barely avoiding running the unconscious teen genius over in the process.

Edison ran to Bryce and picked him up, carrying him into the hospital with Reg, Jenny and Dom close behind.

A few moments later, with much convincing from Theora, Murray followed Theora bringing up the rear to make sure he didn't turn back.

"Edison Carter," Edison said as he entered the medical center carrying Bryce. "I called for a medical team. Case of belladonna poisoning."

The receptionist tapped in the code for the paramedic team. "Edison Carter is here with a belladonna victim."

The emergency room doors flew open seconds later. A team of doctors, one with the name tag "K. Weaving", rushed into the room.

"Put him on the gurney, Mr. Carter," Dr. Weaving said, a syringe in hand.

The minute Bryce was on the gurney, an oxygen mask was over his face and the doctor was carefully applying the injected.

"Physostigmine," he told Edison. "Used in severe cases of belladonna poisoning."

They got Bryce into a pod in the emergency room and began monitoring his vital signs while they hooked him up to an EKG to check for signs of brain death.

"Looks like we got to him in time," the doctor told Edison. "There are signs of permanent brain damage. However, there is nothing that cannot be dealt with."

"What sort of brain damage?"

"There will be some memory loss," the doctor explained. "Also transient blindness in one or both eyes, and he will experience heavy confusion during any attempt at logical reasoning."

'When you say 'transient blindness', doctor," Theora asked. "How long will his periods of blindness last?"

"There's no telling," the doctor admitted. "We had one patient who lost vision completely for a year and then regained it. Though it's usually for a month or less."


	17. Chapter 17

Journey Down a Hard Road

Chapter 17:

Jenny sat beside Bryce's hospital bed. She wondered if he would ever learn to walk again now that there was brain damage involved.

There were so many questions she had. So many regrets she felt. But most of all, she was angry. Angry at the doctors who had done this to him. Angry at the terrorists who had wounded them in the first place. Angry at ACS for not having better security or getting help sooner.

ACS. She thought again about her and Bryce's time there. It seemed like a long time ago, now. It didn't seem real. None of it did. She just couldn't reconcile the memory of a bright and happy little boy who was just a little shy with the unconscious and damaged teenager who lie in the bed before her. They seemed like they should be two different people in her mind.

Returning her mind to the present, Jenny wondered just how bad the damage really was. She wondered if she would be able to retrain him. Would he be able to retain what he learned anew?

And what about the transient blindness? That would be terrifying to him. And it was something one could not just get used to.

The grey van parked outside the Harrisburg Center was not a welcome sight. Edison shouldered his vidicam and rushed over it, horrified as he watched Breughal and a woman he did not recognize loading a stretcher with a corpse atop it into the van.

The woman looked up at him. She was tall, slim, Japanese, with her hair cropped short in front and a long ponytail in back.

"We have company," she told Breughal.

Breughal looked up. "Mr. Carter," he said smoothly. "How wonderful to see you. This young lady here is my most recent Mahler.

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Carter."

"A pleasure," Edison replied, backing off when Breughal glared at him.

"How is your young friend?" Breughal inquired.

"He survived," Edison said. "Not sure how functional he'll be when he wakes up. Or if his brain will be able to hold in anything new we try to teach him. What happened here?"

"Fell off a ladder while trying to pick apples in the grove." Breughal explained. "Or so I've been told. Two deaths here so far, plus the attempt on Bryce."

"Do you know who the other death was?" Edison asked. To hell with privacy. The doctors weren't going to tell the parents anyhow. This was the only way they'd know what happened to their son or daughter.

Breughal knew he was recording, but that didn't matter. "Her name was Susan."

Bryce opened his eyes. He blinked. Nothing changed. Terrified he began to hyperventilate.

"Can't see?" Jenny asked, gently, wrapping an arm around him and rubbing his shoulders.

Bryce shook his head, too panicked to speak.

"It's okay," Jenny told him. "It's just temporary. I don't know how long it will last this time. It's a side effect of belladonna poisoning."

Bryce slowly calmed down until he was leaning against Jenny, tears rolling down his face.

"Who am I?" he asked her gently. "Do you know?"

"Yes," Jenny said softly. "You are my best friend in the whole world."


	18. Chapter 18

Journey Down a Hard Road

Chapter 18: Confrontation and Comfort

"Put that camera down," Dr. Benson said, angrily. "This is a private center where…"

"It's a private center where people are dying, Dr. Benson," Edison said. "Now you either talk to me, or I'm going to assume that you have something to do with it."

"That last death was an accident," Dr. Benson said, his voice sad but angry. How dare Carter accuse him of having anything to do with that boy's death. He had worked hard to make the Harrisburg Center a good and safe place for recovering hostage victims. Two deaths and one coma seemed like a lot. But they'd all been from entirely different causes. "The girl who died in her sleep was a delayed reaction to brain injury."

"And what about Bryce?" Edison demanded. "Why was he taken to the asylum? Why was he given belladonna?"

"Belladonna is a perfectly acceptable remedy used in the treatment of many ailments. It is sometimes used as a painkiller and a remedy for hyperkinesis."

"Neither of which he had," Edison pointed out. "And why such a large dose?"

"1.5 c.c.'s is not that high a dose."

"He was given ten times that!" Edison shouted.

Bryce blinked as the room went slowly from black to a fuzzy grey.

"I think my eyesight is returning," he said.

"That's good," Jenny told him. "Do you remember what I told you earlier?"

"I think I remember some of it. You said my name is Bryce Lynch. That I'm a genius or at least I was born one. And you said I attended the Academy of Computer Sciences at the age of ten along with you and a few other really smart kids."

"That's right."

"I don't feel like a genius," Bryce admitted. "I've been trying to think of some brain exercises to do, but I'm stumped."

"It's the belladonna," Jenny explained. "It's caused hemispheric damage to your brain. You have to relearn most of what you lost in a new way."

"Bryce," Theora said as she walked in. "How do you feel?"

"Physically? Fine."

"He seems to be handling the brain injury okay for now," Jenny told Theora.

"For now?" Bryce demanded. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"It's perfectly normal for a genius with a severe brain injury to feel extremely frustrated," Jenny said, her hand on Bryce's shoulder.

"Yeah. Whatever," Bryce grumbled. "You try being told you spent the first sixteen years of your life as the most brilliant person ever…"

"I never called you that," Jenny pointed out.

"Oh? Were you smarter?" Bryce asked sarcastically.

"Look that doesn't matter, I get what you're saying," Jenny smiled warmly as she hugged him. "And you're right. It is hard to be told you're really Superman when you feel as dopey as Clark Kent pretends to be."

"I'd be thrilled to feel like Clark Kent," Bryce told her. "I feel like bloody Lois Lane. I even had to be rescued. Jenny, I can't live like this. I can't be helpless for the rest of my life."

"You won't be helpless, Bryce," Jenny told him. "I won't let that happen. I'll work with you every day until we find a way to work around the problems you have now."

"And what if it goes wrong?" Bryce asked.

"Let's not think about that," Jenny said, knowing what the answer would be.


	19. Chapter 19

Journey Down a Hard Road

Chapter 19: Tough Choices

"Jenny," Bryce asked. "Are you okay?"

It had been a week since he'd awakened from his coma. He was staying at Edison Carter's apartment now. His eyesight had returned a couple of days after he'd first come out of his coma and he'd taken advantage of what he called his "sighted time" to practice walking with crutches.

Jenny came to visit him for a few hours every day. Acting as his mentor as well as being a very close friend.

"Not really," Jenny admitted. "I feel really bad about Susan. She was a good friend."

Bryce sat down on the edge of the bed and patted it invitingly. It was easier for him to sit down on than the sofa.

Jenny knew he wasn't going to try anything. It wasn't because of the belladonna. He simply hadn't outgrown his shyness around women he wasn't working with.

She sat next to him and let him hug her. It was the closest he had ever got to anyone.

Bryce didn't know exactly why he wanted to hug Jenny. He'd just seen the act on TV a few times and decided that it was the right way to respond.

He had to admit, the closeness of her felt pretty good. It almost made up for the pain he himself was going through.

Almost.

"Bryce," Jenny asked. "What's wrong?"

"What do you mean?" Bryce asked.

"You're trembling," she told him. "Is it from the belladonna or are you really upset about something?"

"A little of both," Bryce admitted. "Jenny I want you to replicate the Max Headroom process with me."

"Bryce…"

"I mean it," Bryce cut her off. "I want you to recreate me in the network computer. I'll tell Max to give you access to the computer."

"Won't it recreate the brain as it is? With the injuries and faults?" Jenny looked at him. For the moment, at least, it seemed like some of his ability to reason had returned. She wondered if he would fully recover.

"There was to be a way to resolve those issues," Bryce said. "Jenny, I see that look in your eyes. You think I'm getting better. I don't know if I am or I'm not. But let's not take chances. While I'm in a copyable state, let's recreate me."

"Bryce, I don't know if I can," Jenny admitted.

"Just hook me up," Jenny told her. "Max can do the rest."

Jenny turned Edison's home terminal on and found the EEG wires that had been used on Edison when he'd been infected with the virus Zik Zak had implanted with an infected neurostim bracelet.

Bryce lie down and listened as Max instructed Jenny where to place the wires.

"Just close your eyes and relax," Max told Bryce. "It helps to not have the brain taking in additional information from the optic nerve."

Bryce closed his eyes and listened to the soft hum of the computer tower as it uploaded a copy of his brain, mind, and memory into the system.

Jenny watched as the construct began to form on the screen.

Unlike Max, it wasn't just a head and shoulders. It still looked a bit cartoonish, like Max. However it was softer, less angular.

When the last wire had been removed from his head, Bryce opened his eyes.

"Hello," he said to his construct. "I'm Bryce. Bryce Lynch."

The construct considered him for a moment.

"I suppose I am, too," he said after a moment. "But it's going to be confusing if we both use the same name. Though, I guess it won't be confusing for too long."

"What do you mean?" Jenny asked.

"Jenny," Bryce, the one sitting up on the bed, told her, "I can feel my mind deteriorating again."

"Bryce," Jenny said, realizing where this conversation was heading. "No."

"It's not just my thought processes that are going, Jenny," Bryce said. "I'm shaking more and more every day. I know the blindness will become more and more frequent. Soon I'll be nothing but a vegetable. I can't live like that, Jenny. Nobody should have to."

"That's why you asked me to create this stupid construct!" Jenny screamed at him. "That's why you asked me to copy you! You were planning this from the beginning. I hate you both!"

She stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind her. In the hallway, she let her tears fall. It wasn't fair. She loved Bryce, wanted him to stay with her. But those stupid doctors had poisoned him with that stupid belladonna. And now she was being asked to be the instrument of his death if his brain deteriorated too much.

No. It definitely wasn't fair.


	20. Chapter 20

Journey Down a Hard Road

Chapter 20: Symptoms of Bad Change

"Edison," Jenny said as Edison arrived at home. "Edison, you have to talk to Bryce. Please? Try to make him see sense. He wants to kill himself."

"Bryce," Edison yelled as he rushed in. He half expected to find Bryce with a razor or rope.

"Relax," Bryce told Edison. "Jenny doesn't have it quite right. I don't want to die. I just don't see any alternative."

"He's right," Bryce II told them.

"Yeah," Jenny snapped. "Because you're going to disagree."

"Who…?"

"Meet Bryce II," Bryce told Edison, introducing his construct.

"Bryce II?" Edison asked. "How original."

"The confusion will be over when this body is gone," Bryce explained. "Edison, look. What do you do when your vidicam no longer works right? You get a new one. A better one. I've transferred my mind, brain, soul… all of it… into a new body. It might not be physical, but it will do. Now I'd just like permission to get rid of the old one if and when it breaks down too much to be useful."

"Your asking us to kill you," Edison shook his head.

"No," Bryce explained. "I'm asking you, when the time comes, to let me die. Don't force my body to be kept functioning by machines just so you can see my face. Don't let some doctor keep me alive just so he can say I didn't die on his watch. Let me have dignity when the time comes, Edison. Jenny. Please?"

"What about the nanite project, Bryce?" Jenny asked. "What about the terrorists?"

"Bryce II can make the marshmallows," Bryce said, frowning. "That's not what I meant to say. I'm sorry. I…" Bryce tried to think of what he wanted to say. But all he got for his efforts was a wave of dizziness that he could not shake.

"Bryce…" Jenny asked.

"Let me just lie down for a moment," Bryce told her. "I think I'll be okay for now. Just pass me that… that…"

"You want the pillow?" Jenny offered.

"Yes, pass the bloody pillow. Damn it." Bryce swore. "Look, at me. I can't even remember what a pillow is any more."

"Considering that you almost never sleep, it's no surprise you don't remember pillows," Edison said, trying to lighten the mood.

"Shut up," Bryce snapped. "Just shut the fuck up!"

Edison was shocked. Bryce had never sworn at him like that before. He didn't even think Bryce had ever heard the F-bomb before.

"I'll come back later," Jenny told them, as she quietly slipped out the door.

"Don't look so shocked, Edison-fucking-Carter," Bryce exploded at him. "You think this is all some kind of joke? You think it's funny when someone as brilliant as I am has to go through every day feeling their mind …. their intellect… the very thing that defines them… just collapse into nothingness?"

"I think you need to watch your language," Edison told him. "Otherwise, you're right. It's not funny. And I wasn't joking about that. I was just trying to lighten the mood."

"Well, find something more appropriate to joke about next time," Bryce snarled, lying down and burying himself under the blankets.

"You still want the pillow?"

"Go to Hell!"


	21. Chapter 21

Journey Down a Hard Road

Chapter 21: Tragedy and Loss

Jenny ran into Edison's apartment. Tears ran down her face as she began flipping through the TV channels. It had been nearly a month since Bryce II had been created. The construct was currently watching them with keen interest.

"What's wrong?" Edison asked

"They're dead! They're all dead!" Jenny wailed. "Is Bryce awake?"

"Let's talk about that later," Edison said, looking over at Bryce who lie on the bed. He didn't have the heart to tell her that Bryce was not just asleep. The two of them, with the help of Max and Bryce II, had come so far with the nanite project. Bryce II had managed to score a free set. And once Jenny and Bryce had carefully placed them in the computerized microscope and set up the proper tools, Bryce II had taken over creating the prototype of the synesthetic device.

"Who's dead?" Edison asked.

"The rest of the survivors… I mean… the rest of the graduates from ACS. To hell with calling them 'survivors' any more!"

"What do you mean they're all dead?" Edison demanded.

"There was a fire last night. Place burned to the ground," Jenny sobbed.

"What about the emergency exits?"

"Useless! They only had elevators. No goddamned stairs!"

"And you're telling me there were no emergency stairs from the apartments?" Edison asked. He was horrified by what he was hearing.

Jenny found the station that was broadcasting the news.

"-isburg Center was recently made the center of attention when the Edison Carter show on Network 23 ran a feature on it following a hostage crisis at the Academy of…"

She turned it off, unable to stand watching the bodies as they came out, covered by white sheets. Only an occasional hand, charred down to the bone, could be seen. Jenny ran into the bathroom and vomited.

When she came back out she sat down on the bed next to Bryce, looking down at him with tears in her eyes.

"At least I still have you," she said, sadly. "Oh, Bryce. I have such a sad thing to tell you when you wake up."

She reached to brush a stray lock of hair from his forehead. Then she recoiled.

"No… he can't be…!"

"About an hour ago," Edison told her.

"What did you do?" Jenny demanded. "What the hell did you do?"

"Nothing," Edison said. "It was the brain damage. It caused a short circuit in his pulmonary system. His heart and lungs went into complete failure."

"At least he got what he wanted," Jenny said, tearfully. "But why didn't you take him to Gladhand Meadows right away?"

"I wanted you to be able to say 'goodbye'," Edison explained.

"Jenny," Bryce II said, "it wasn't your fault. Bryce appreciated… I mean I appreciate… all you've done for my mortal form."

"You and Max have been in the Full Moon Entertainment file again, haven't you?"

"Who do you think introduced Max to Josh Kirby?" Bryce II asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Who?" Jenny asked.

"The T-t-t- time warrior, of course," Max cut in. "Mind you, this really is a conversation for a happier time."

"Agreed," Bryce II said as he and Max both returned to more somber expressions. A moment later, Bryce II's eyes lit up with triumph.

"Got 'em!" he said.


End file.
